BAM Construct UK has announced that they have a new charity partner. The construction company has teamed up with CLIC Sargent, the children’s cancer support charity. Bam has also pledged to raise £100,000 for the charity over the next two years. The money that is raised by the construction company
Nicola Yates OBE has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of Future Cities Catapult. Yates will begin her role on the 22nd May 2017. Future Cities Catapult is a company that works to expand companies in order to improve cities. The company aims to allow other businesses, universities and
Rotherham Council has given the go ahead for a Gulliver’s family theme park. It is thought that the development in South Yorkshire has been given planning permission by the council last month. Apparently the councilors on the Planning Board were unanimous in the decision to grant planning permission for the
The fourth office building for one of Europe’s largest commercial developments has received planning approval. The development is being carried out as a joint project between Lendlease and LCR, both of whom are joint partners of International Quarter London. The building has been designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners,
The world-leading modified wood, Accoya has been included in the development of two new build properties located in the South of England. The wood has been used in bespoke joinery products that have been delivered for the two properties. The first new build property in question is located in Berkshire
Novus Property solutions has announced that they will be undertaking a new project that will see the creation of a new apprentice training centre at The JCB Academy, located in Staffordshire. The national property maintenance, refurbishment and new build contractor has embarked on the development of this bran-new facility which
Skanska, the global construction company, has been operational for 125 years. The well-established business still has modern commitments to sustainability and their future. Skanska’s regional engineering site in South Yorkshire is demonstrative of the company’s intention to be green and their work towards being carbon-free. The facility has been part
The Glynn Vivian Art Gallery in Swansea has had a major new extension added to it. The Grade II listed gallery faced a number of challenges while developing a new extension. Primarily the main challenge was how to incorporate a modern extension with a loved historic building and also being
A few weeks ago, RGB Building Supplies announced that they had acquired TecBuild. The Bodmin Builders merchants has been acquired by the Building Supplies company in order to expand their business. RGB Building Supplies is a mixed merchant supplier that offers a range of building materials as well as landscaping
A gala film night hosted by the film critic Mark Kermode was held by The British Safety Council. The film night was organized in order to show the contributions it has made over the last 60 years towards improving health and safety. The gala event took place in the Regen
BAM Construct UK has announced that they have a new charity partner. The construction company has teamed up with CLIC Sargent, the children’s cancer support charity. Bam has also pledged to raise £100,000 for the charity over the next two years. The money that is raised by the construction company will mean that more children and young people that have cancer are able to thrive instead of survive during and after their treatment. The team at BAM Construct have chosen CLIC Sargent as their new charity after inviting a number of different charities to pitch for the position of their new charity partner. The pledge by Bam to raise £100,000 could mean that CLIC Sargent would be able to provider more than 4,000 hours of support for the young cancer patients as well as offering support for their families. CLIC Sargent’s team of nurses, social workers and frontline medical staff based around the UK fight to reduce the impact cancer causes areas beyond the child or young person’s health by looking to reduce disruption in areas such as education, social life, finances and future prospects. BAM Construct will be carrying out employee fundraising activities in order to raise funds to meet the target that they have set. On top of this there will also be opportunities for members of the BAM team to volunteer at the CLIC Sargent ‘Homes from Home’ facilities. These are houses that are close to specialist treatment hospitals around the UK and are offered as free accommodation to the families when they child is undergoing treatment. The charity has welcomed the support offered by their position as charity partner for Bam Construct UK, and it is hoped that the money raised by the construction company will make a significant difference to the patients that are helped by CLIC Sargent.
Nicola Yates OBE has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of Future Cities Catapult. Yates will begin her role on the 22nd May 2017. Future Cities Catapult is a company that works to expand companies in order to improve cities. The company aims to allow other businesses, universities and city leaders the opportunity to work together to find solutions for their cities now and in the future. Future Cities Catapult has an Urban Innovation Centre in London where they offer their world class facilities and expertise in order to offer support in order for new products and services to be developed. The facility also offers an environment for collaboration and space to test different ideas and improve on business model plans. Nicola Yates has worked within the sector of urban regeneration over the past 10 years. Nicola Yates has been known as a leading thinker and practitioner in her previous roles. Nicola has also held the position of CEO before her appointment at Future Cities Catapult. Those previous positions of CEO were at Bristol City and Hull City Councils as well as North Shropshire District Council. Nicola Yates has been part of the successful Bristol Is Open campaign that took place in 2014 in which she worked with Nokia, NEC and Interdigital Ltd. Hopefully Nicola will be equally as successful in her new position. Also during Nicola’s time in her position at Bristol City Council the city was awarded with the European Green Capital 2015 by the European Commission. The UK City Index also named Bristol the leading smart city outside London during Nicola’s time there as well as being nominated by the Sunday Times as the ‘Best Place to Live’ in England in 2016. Future Cities is recognised around the world as a centre for urban innovation excellence. The current CEO, Peter Madden OBE will be on hand to support Nicola Yates as she transitions in tot the role, and will also stay on hand for 12 months in a part time ambassador role in order to allow for continuity during the change.
Rotherham Council has given the go ahead for a Gulliver’s family theme park. It is thought that the development in South Yorkshire has been given planning permission by the council last month. Apparently the councilors on the Planning Board were unanimous in the decision to grant planning permission for the park. The theme park is expected to be built on a 250-acre site that was formerly the location for the Pithouse West colliery. This development in the Rother Valley is expected to boost the local economy and should also provide jobs. The planning permission was granted to the theme park company after a 21-day period which allowed time for the Secretary of State for Communities & Local Government, Sajid Javid MP to call-in the decision. The multi-million pound project will develop their fourth Gulliver’s theme park in the UK in Rotherham and this development is expected to create hundreds of jobs. It is thought that the new Gulliver’s theme park will combine the best aspects of the other three sites at Warrington, Matlock Bath and Milton Keynes. The company has worked closely with the council as well as Highways England and other parties for the past two years in order to make sure they had the best chance of getting planning approval for their new park while making sure that the development will not negatively impact the local access routes. Work has also gone into making sure there is a reduced visual impact from some of the park’s larger attractions. The council first agreed to sell the land to Gulliver’s in 2015. It is thought that Gulliver’s Valley will be a great facility for families in the local area as well as providing a boost to the local economy by attracting visitors from further afield. The new theme park is expected to be developed in a way that will complement the activities that already exit at the Rother Valley Country Park.
The fourth office building for one of Europe’s largest commercial developments has received planning approval. The development is being carried out as a joint project between Lendlease and LCR, both of whom are joint partners of International Quarter London. The building has been designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, architects that are acclaimed around the world. The building is expected to create 280,000 sq. ft. of new workspace spread out over 10 storeys. The plans are a development on the work already being carried out in the International Quarter London. The Quarter will welcome Transport for London, the first commercial tenant of the new construction. Transport for London will move in to the new major office in September. The International Quarter London is a development that is being carried out by Lendlease and LCR. The Quarter has been developed in Stratford, and is at the heart of the largest urban regeneration in Europe. The project is expected to create four million sq. ft. of A Grade office space as well as 333 new homes and other community facilities all inside a 22-acre site. It is thought that the new development will become the new location for progressive business. It is thought that the site will attract a lot of attention because of the plentiful amount of green space as well as the connection to some of the most forward-thinking institutions in the world as well as excellent transport connections. The first two residential towers are expected to be finished for May 2017 and one million sq. ft. of the office space has already been pre-let. The International Quarter London will act as a gateway to Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and will be able to aces a high standard of infrastructure such as transport links. It is thought that once completed the International Quarter will be occupied by more than 25,000 employees every day.
The world-leading modified wood, Accoya has been included in the development of two new build properties located in the South of England. The wood has been used in bespoke joinery products that have been delivered for the two properties. The first new build property in question is located in Berkshire and has been designed with striking exterior doors that have been made using this Accoya wood as part of the joinery package. Accoya was selected in this case as an ideal wood which has been used in this project because of the insulating properties of the wood as well as dimensional stability. The modified wood has a 50 year guarantee and has an aesthetic finish that it was agreed by both the architects and the owners of the property thought would be perfect in order to fit in with the overall exterior of the building. As for the second new home, the development used Accoya as a material for both the exterior doors and frames. This new home has been built in Winchester and the house includes tailor made bi-folding doors as well as French doors in to the property. It is thought that the insulating properties of this modified wood would make it the best option for being able to withstand the changeable weather in the UK. The modified material was included in these two properties was provided by SB Joinery, who believe that Accoya is the best product for both of these construction cases. The company are certified users of Accoya and a large selection of their products are made using the modified wood. The business recommends Accoya timber for use in windows doors and other external applications because it is so durable. The windows and doors that are made using this wood can stay in a very high level of condition as well as needing very little maintenance.
Novus Property solutions has announced that they will be undertaking a new project that will see the creation of a new apprentice training centre at The JCB Academy, located in Staffordshire. The national property maintenance, refurbishment and new build contractor has embarked on the development of this bran-new facility which will offer space for a school for those students that have an interest in both engineering and business. The JCB Academy intends to develop future engineers and business leaders by teaching the students to apply their learning to practical solutions. There has been an investment of £1.2 million that will go towards the new Apprentice Training Centre which will sit on the site of the old Dove First School, which is in Rochester. This work will be significant for the continued expansion of the company’s apprenticeship programme. The project is forecast to last 15 weeks which means that it is expected to be completed in late May 2017. Novus Property Solutions will be involved through the construction of the new 687 sq. m. facility that will be used to train apprentices in a variety of different disciplines when the project is completed. The team on site will work to completely refurbish the single storey school building that is already standing and will remodel it in order to create a new internal layout. The work will also be in line with the requirements of a modern learning environment. As well as this interior refurbishment, Novus will be working to build a new section that will be added to the front elevation. This extension will increase the footprint of the building and also provide a space that will be used as a new entranceway as well as being able to provide the Academy’s students with a social space to relax it. The new training centre will add to the other great facilities that The JCB Academy has as well as allowing the space for the latest equipment and technology. These new facilities will provide the capabilities to educate students in the area of metrology, systems and mechatronics in a higher level of detail.
Skanska, the global construction company, has been operational for 125 years. The well-established business still has modern commitments to sustainability and their future. Skanska’s regional engineering site in South Yorkshire is demonstrative of the company’s intention to be green and their work towards being carbon-free. The facility has been part of a four-year project that has led to a zero carbon office facility being produced. This project and the completed facility has managed to achieve a 94.6% BREEAM Outstanding score. The facility, Bentley Works is the engineering and manufacturing facility for Skanska UK. The facility is located 3km north of Doncaster and it is thought that the project costs £14 million. The company acted as both developer and main contractor as part of this project and were involved in the demolition of the buildings that were previously on the site. The new sustainable facility has been developed on the site of some office and workshop buildings, that were torn down in order to make way for the 1,800 sq. m. office building. The floor space for the office building is separated over two floors and the facility also has 3,135 Sq. m. workshop for fabrication and machines. There is a workshop building and a paint shop building that were saved from demolition, which has undergone refurbishment. The buildings on the project are classed as “Deep Green” which essentially means that they have a near zero impact on the environment as well as being designed to be future proof. The environmental rating of this project is the best ratings received by Skanska. The project is also a UK first and was designed in conjunction with BREEAM methodology. The features of the project that made it more sustainable include Skanska not sending any waste to landfill and employing local contractors. Only employing contractors from the Yorkshire area means that they also provided a boost to the local economy.
The Glynn Vivian Art Gallery in Swansea has had a major new extension added to it. The Grade II listed gallery faced a number of challenges while developing a new extension. Primarily the main challenge was how to incorporate a modern extension with a loved historic building and also being able to create a sensitive link between the two. The architects on this project faced a tough challenge when tackling this project as it also involved the addition of a new gallery, community and education rooms as well as a lecture theatre and a screening room, conservation studios and collection stores. All of these different requirements needed to be added to the existing neo-classical brick and stone building. The Glynn Vivian Art Gallery was completed in 1909 originally but has faced expansion works that would see a new street level entrance as well as a bigger brighter reception in order to welcome the visitors. The designers have created an extension which they hope will preserve the symmetry of the original façade. This means that the designers also had to create a sense of separation externally between the extension and the gallery itself. However, the design also had to create the best experience possible for the visitors by internally connecting the two elements and allowing the visitors to move between the original building and the extension. In total for the extension, 70 sq. m. of glass was used for the project. The outer panes were Pilkington K Glass™ which has a low-emissivity hard coating that would reduce the amount of radiated heat that has been lost from the building which has improved the energy performance of the space. This type of glass was provided by Pilkington United Kingdom. The link created by the low-profile structural glazing connects the two buildings on three levels which makes the extension feel more unified with the original building for the visitors of the Art Gallery.
A few weeks ago, RGB Building Supplies announced that they had acquired TecBuild. The Bodmin Builders merchants has been acquired by the Building Supplies company in order to expand their business. RGB Building Supplies is a mixed merchant supplier that offers a range of building materials as well as landscaping goods and decorating materials and damp proofing products. The business has been working out of the Devon, Cornwall and Somerset areas for the past 160 years. Therefore, RGB has managed to expand in order to become one of the South West’s leading independent builder’s merchants. Now that they can add the Bodmin branch to thei9r collection of locations, the building supplies merchant will now be operating out of 19 different locations in the South West of England. TecBuild was formerly owned by Phil and Jo Northey. The former owners are expected to sill carry on being involved in the business now that is has been acquired by RGB Building Supplies. It was also stated that all the TecBuild staff will be kept on at the branch. This is good news for the Bodmin branch workers, and will mean that the former employees will still be able to have some involvement in the business. The former owners of TecBuild will be working alongside the CEO of RGB Building Supplies, Kevin Fenlon as well as with the Bodmin Branch Manager Steve Best in order to give RGB a boost when expanding into the Bodmin area. TecBuild has previously managed to build a very loyal client base in the area and hopefully this means that RGB will be able to capitalize on that client base in order to succeed in this new location. It has been mentioned that it is important to RGB Building Supplies that the former bosses of TecBuild are still playing an important role in the business, and RGB will be able to offer their larger client base in order to help the Bodmin location flourish.
A gala film night hosted by the film critic Mark Kermode was held by The British Safety Council. The film night was organized in order to show the contributions it has made over the last 60 years towards improving health and safety. The gala event took place in the Regen Street cinema and the British Safety Council presented their recent achievements and the plans for the future in the style of a film festival. The event took place on the 23rd March, and is a celebration of the charity and membership organisation. The evening was launched in order to show the film British Safety Council at 60. The film shows the story of the start of the British Safety Council in 1957 as well as the significant growth that has been achieved by the campaigning organisation in order to transform the Health and Safety standards in Britain. The film uses long lost archival footage and focuses on James Tye, the founder of the organisation. The founder was considered charismatic although sometimes thought to be controversial as he attempted to improve health and safety during a period of time where hundreds of people were being killed each year at work, with inadequate and piecemeal laws there to protect the workers in Britain. The film will include footage of James Tye at work with campaigning and training, but will also show photographs of the founder with celebrities including Barbara Windsor. As part of the event, the guests were given a book entitled ‘Beware! Watchdog with fearsome bark’ which holds posters and other documents that have been commissioned over the years by the British Safety Council. The guests at the event also saw the launch of the competition to mark 60 years of the organisation. The guests watched the four finalists’ pieces as well as the winning piece by Juan Cruz-Hernández. The event will also look to the future of the council and how the gig economy and the ageing workforce can impact the future for the British Safety Council.